As you may know, training your dog is a 'living' series of events. As your dog learns a new behavior or trick his ability to learn evolves. It is for that reason that I must occasionally change the format of a particular technique. Sometimes by changing only a word or two I can create a whole new experience for you and your dog making your time together more rewarding.
I will be adding training tips and tricks as I (re)write them. I will then keep you at the top of (your) game as I stay at the top of mine!
Come back often for those tidbits that make will your life easier and your dog happier.(Each new techniques is highlighted in yellow)Happy training, Ken.

"Let us learn how our dog thinks. The rewards are immeasurable."__________________________________________________________________

Your dog “tells” you when he is about to react to outside stimuli. There are 3 basic “tells” (body language signals)“You must be or become, aproactive and preventative dog owner”. Sometimes actively avoiding a perceived bad situation is your best defense against unwanted behaviors. If you remember this, you will be leaps and bounds ahead of what is (about) to happen.There are 3 basic ‘tells’ or signs that your dog will give you when he is about to be involved in his surroundings more than he is involved in you and what you (were) doing. Once you have a clear understanding of these 3 tells, you will be more prepared than ever to handle unwanted behaviors. Being ahead of an event is the key to successfully handling of your dog.Based on more than 12 years of hands on experience with aggression as well as all phases of dog training and common behavior challenges, I submit this to you.

Stage #1: Targeting:

~1- Stage #1 is Targeting.Your dog notices and looks. This the moment in time that your dog sees something or someone, that gets his attention and is the point at which his curiosity is beginning but has not yet peaked. This is not only normal but it is instinctive. Targeting is a self-preservation behavior and not, in itself, a bad thing. If there is nothing (for you) to worry about, he will look back to you in a couple of seconds as you continue with what you and he were doing. However…It is what your dog does after his initial targeting that matters.

Stage #2: Triggering

~2- Stage #2 is Triggering and is the second phase of his curiosity. This is when he has determined that the object of his initial curiosity is worth a more intense inspection, the point where he has decided to get closer and won't let eye contact go, still manageable but on the edge. Now, most likely, your dog is pulling on his lead with gusto while trying to move toward whatever has his focus (clearly ‘you’ are not his focus!!). It is at this stage of his interest that you must take action to prevent what might be or is about to happen. (see “turn him now” below)

Stage #3: Reacting:

~3- Stage #3 is Reacting.Okay, you are too late to be proactive and preventative, now you are physically fighting for control of him. He has taken mental leave of the fact that (you) exist. His is trying to drag you with him and you (probably) are freaking out. ~~~Here is a real life tip to help you gain control quickly:

TURN HIM NOW and keep going!

Here is how to do this: Take him off balance by quickly turning him away.~Quickly and calmly Reach down low for the leash with the palm of the hand that is nearest him (if he is on your left- use your left hand/ if he is on the right- use your right hand) as you hold on for dear life with the other hand so he cannot get away.

~Place your palm on the leash and PUSH across your body at about knee height to take your dog off balance.

~He will stumble and briefly forget about the other thing.

~MOVE OFF NOW---Immediately taking him away from that which he is triggering on is your only course of action.

~ If he gets his footing and tries to return to whatever had his attention, repeat the steps above.~Repeating these steps until you have your dog under control again will work!~DO NOT wait too long before using the off balance technique.

Happy training, Ken

_____________________________________YOU MUST READ THIS

RAISINS AND YOUR DOG HEALTH 2015

(The following article is written by a veterinarian)

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever
seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered
lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30
AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and
shaking about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my
emergency service until 7AM.

I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal
failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her
bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER
service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard
something about it, but....Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National
Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give IV fluids at 1 ½
times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72
hours.

The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32
(normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of
normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream.
We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the
renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7
with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At the point I
felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet
for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as
overnight care.

He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values
have continued to incr ease daily. He produced urine when given
lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting
medications and they still couldn't control his vomiting. Today his
urine output decreased again , his BUN was over 120, his creatinine
was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure,
which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220.. He
continued to vomit and the owners elected to euthanize.

This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea
raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a
dog of this very serious risk. Poison control said as few as 7
raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their
dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's. Any
exposure should give rise to immediate concern.

Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville , Ohio

This is typical of many 'rescue dogs’. He doesn't trust his surroundings yet. The beginning is really simple yet not all that easy to follow through with but you must!

~First, tell every visitor to completely ignore him. No greeting, nothing. He will choose his time to approach them. Then follow this plan to the letter. If you don't, it will take forever to help him become stable. If you do, this can happen in short order. Silver bullet??? Nope, just calm, consistent, dedicated implementation of this plan as written.

~STOP all pity or sympathy. It is harming him. This is very difficult. I know firsthand.

~Create a firm, calm, consistent atmosphere for him. Interact with him using the same action/ reaction every time.

~No negative corrections. He is acting on instinct and not "deciding" to do anything wrong!!.

~Let him know he has rules and he will come around much sooner.

~~ EVERYONE must begin, this instant, ignoring him to allow him to feel safe enough to come to you for attention. The following steps will help achieve this:

~When you get home, greet him 'very calmly and matter of factly' with (what I say to my dogs "Settle") and nothing else then go about your business of living.

~Stooping with smaller dogs will help them feel less over-powered by your size.

*** This is imperative: NO eye contact~ NO talk~ NO touch. Let HIM come to you at least 3 times before you even acknowledge him again.

~When he approaches, and he will, you will still ignore him. Let him sniff

~When he approaches you for the 4th time - say nothing beyond your initial greeting (settle) and let him sniff the back of your hand

~ He will let you know when to touch him by touching you

~ CALMLY touch him with the back of your hand very gently (NO palm of the hand touching!), actually just allow him to touch your hand rather than move toward him. This will let him know you are not going to harm him and he will begin to trust your judgment.

Be diligent about implementing this plan of action and you will see a change in a few days. As he comes around don't change until he is actually excited when you move to touch him. If he flinches even slightly, you are moving too fast. Go back to the plan.

PLEASE let me know how you are doing after only 2 days. You need to get this right, from the start, so keep in touch.

Happy training, Ken

_____________________________________________

Dogs need guidelines and boundaries. Good leadership will earn your dog’s respect and help him to feel secure. Here are a few ways to become a great leadership:

Good leaders are not bullies!! Corrections don’t stop the unwanted behavior. Take (corrections) out of your dogs’ life by rewarding what you want and ignoring what you do not want. Forgive and move on. Never use scruff-shakes, jerking, hitting or other harsh physical corrections. Use praise and rewards to let your dog know when he is doing the right thing. Above all, be a kind, calm, consistent, patient and rewarding leader.

The Leader Controls The Resources. You must understand that YOU control all the “good stuff” when it comes to your dog.Food and play: Food is an incredibly valuable resource. As such, it should come from you, not from that round thing that is always magically full! Feed twice daily, rather than leaving food down. If your dog does not eat after ten minutes, pick the food up and put it away. Most dogs, even those previously free-fed, will quickly adapt to the new routine; no dog will starve himself. (If your dog is tiny, hypoglycemic, or has medical issues, check with your vet before switching to scheduled feedings.) For dogs with severe leadership issues, or to kick-start your program, hand-feed meals (a few pieces at a time) for two weeks. Have your dog sit, shake, or down to get each handful of food. Control toys and games. Leave your dog with a few toys, but reserve the really special ones for when you are present. Bring them out periodically and play with your dog. Now you are also the source of all fun! Note: Playing tug is fine as long as you control the game, and your dog knows “Drop it” (aka “Out”). Bring out the toy; initiate tug. Periodically freeze, followed by saying, “Drop it.” When your dog releases, wait a beat, say, “Take it” and resume the game. (If at any time teeth touch skin, say, “Too bad!” and put the toy away.) When you have finished playing, put the toy away out of your dog’s reach.

A happy, mentally healthy, well balanced dog knows that he must do something for your attention, he must "earn" your affection. After all, you are is leader, right? That means he must do something for you in order to earn anything that is valuable to him. If your dog wants to be petted, ask him to sit first. If he’s already sitting, ask him to lie down. Then pet. Have him sit (or do another behavior he knows) before meals, treats, walks, tossing the ball, and anything else he finds valuable.

Furniture Privileges? – This topic is contentious to say the least. Most of us don't mind our dog being on the furniture so, if there are no leadership issues and he will get down when asked, no problem! He can come up when invited. For dogs who are pushy and think they’re in charge, no couch/bed privileges until leadership is better established, and then only when invited.

Control the Space. If your dog zigzags in front as you walk, crowds you as you sit, or otherwise intrudes on your space, that’s not very polite! Leaders control space. For zigzaggers, keep your feet firmly on the floor and shuffle right on through. Your dog will learn to move when legs approach. If you are standing and your dog crowds you, use your lower body to gently push him away. If you are sitting, fold your arms and gently move him away using your upper arm or forearm—do not speak or look at him as you do so. (Knowing the difference between "off" and "down" the teaching “Off” is also helpful.) At doorways (until your dog has learned to “Wait” or “Back up”), either push your dog aside gently with your lower body or step in front to block his path. It is not necessary that you always pass through doorways first, but it should be your choice, and your dog shoving past you is never acceptable!

Dedicated Training. 3 to 5 times per day for 3 to 5 minutes in "distraction free" training sessions. Practice obedience exercises and incorporate them into your everyday life. Down-stays are especially good for establishing leadership. Keep practice sessions short and frequent.

Handling/ Human Touches. Children, for lack of a better description, are mean to dogs when they play with them. Teach your dog to accept handling and the normal abuses that they suffer as they interact with your children. Do daily massage, including paws, ears and mouth. This practice also makes for easier groomer/ veterinary visits and alerts you to any physical abnormalities. (If your dog has issues about being handled, address them with a trainer’s help.)

_________________________________________"Trainer/ Handler"

What is the difference between a Trainer and a Handler?

To my way of thinking this is an easy question to answer yet there are many, many variables that may define how we see ourselves in either position. I will try to make some sense of this and bring you closer to relating to what a trainer does (and does not) do as compared to a handlers responsibilities according to the path I have taken to train any dog to do any behavior or trick that I wish to train him to do.

First, let’s look at the difference between the “trainer” and the “handler”... in my words.

TRAINER: The one person to create, train and enforce a behavior or command until the dog is 90% compliant.

When the dog is complying with the ‘trainers’ 1st command 90% of the time he is ready for a handler to exercise and enforce THAT command only.

If you are like me (8 dogs living under 1 roof) you know what it can mean to have confused dogs. There can only be one trainer in a household per dog. If you have more than 1 dog than you must delegate who the trainer is for each dog to avoid confusing that dog. If you can manage separate training session than you can, as I do, train every dog using the same techniques. However, if you get confused and move off of your goal even slightly, your dog will take longer to learn or may never really “get it”. When only 1 person is training a specific behavior until the dog is 90% compliant on the 1st command, you take all of the guess work out of your training sessions AND your dog learns, in quick-time, exactly what you want. NOW you can introduce your handler to YOUR technique for enforcing that behavior or trick so they too can have a well behaved dog at the end of the leash.

HANDLER: There can be any number of handlers. This is the person, or persons, taking your dog out for any and all activities that (you) cannot manage. This person is allowed to enforce (as instructed by you, the trainer) the behaviors that the dog has already learned and is complying with at or near 90% of the time on the 1st command.

There can be any number of ‘handlers’, those that take the dog for exercise yet do not engage in the actual training of a specific behavior. The ‘handler’ only enforces, by the trainers’ standard, what the dog already has learned.

To sum it all up: For optimum results in your training sessions there must be only 1 trainer (per dog in the household), with any number of handlers that the trainer demonstrates how to enforce (his) training and is allowed to do only that. The handler does not actually train any behavior.

Come back often!!!!!!!"YES" is your new praise wordWhat is the one thing that you can do today to improve your dogs attention without effort?.....

1)Change your praise word to “YES”- TODAY. This won‘t make sense to some yet it is a very powerful change to make.

What happens when your dog is being (good), making you happy and you praise him by saying “Good dog”? Most dogs that I encounter will know that he can get up. He has done what you wanted and he feels free. This is the #1 reason that we have trouble training our dog to “stay’ after a command. We have inadvertently trained him that it is okay to move about when he hears the word “Good”.

“YES” is a happy, new sound and will give your dog pause. When he hears the (new praise word) “YES” he will at first, wonder what you said yet in the same moment he will know that you are happy with what he has done. When you hold that new praise word (yes-s-s-s-s-s) and the longer you hold it, the more intent your dog will be on YOU!. THAT is mental control. You have him wondering how you feel and waiting to learn what is in store for him.

When you get home try it! It does work. Stop using “Good” by replacing it with “YE-s-s-“ to get a new response to a new behavior training experience.

“YES-S-S-S” was never a more pleasant sound!
___________________________________________________

The SECRET to my very effective training is-s-s-s----

My "short burst training method"TM

1)What is my “short burst training”™ method? Training your dog HOW to learn is essential to success. That is what you will accomplish by using my “short burst training”™.

My “short burst training”™ method came to life as the result of my volunteer work at rescue shelters across the SE, from Daphne to Destin, over 1500 hours and counting. I spend at most a couple of hours per month at any one shelter. The task I faced was to get a dog out of containment, work with him for a very short time while having a successful session with each dog. A daunting task for even the best behaved dog to be sure. I needed to work with the most common behavior challenges, pulling, jumping, and running away, leave a lasting impression and then put him back into containment with a satisfied, peaceful state of mind. I knew that I needed to do this in a calm, firm, rewarding manner to avoid creating deeper problems by frightening that dog into a submissive state.

I understood too that it is not a requirement that every dog ‘submit’ to me, however, he must comply with my commands with regularity so I began with just a few basic rules:

~ I DO NOT want to dominate, over-power, frighten, over-excite, be aggressive to or demean any dog. Simple!

~ I DO want to “CONTROL” his mental energy, have a happy session, calm him and have great understanding of exactly what I expect when I give a command thereby enjoying exacting compliance.

Enter my “short burst training”™ method.

The hard part: the rules. The actual “short burst training”™ method is very easy.

For ANY behavior that you wish to train you MUST:

Be Clear: Create a set of commands that your dog simply cannot be confused by

Be Concise: issue each command in such a way that your dog hears or sees, the same exact command every time

Consistent: Be consistent in the way you issue your commands. Your excitement, anger, sadness, virtually every emotion you have will play into how your dog reacts in a session. Be happy to train and he will be happy to learn at a faster pace.

Be Calm: Be calm at all costs. If you have to yell at your dog it is because you have trained him to listen only when you yell.

Be Motivational: High value rewards go a long way. I am a proponent of food rewards. As you train and he complies 90% of the time you can begin taking the treats away for (that) behavior. This usually happens as you approach the end of the 7 day training period. You do not have to treat every time once the behavior is learned but you do want him to be wondering if there is one around. THAT is motivation.

Be Rewarding: As noted above, rewards are key to compliance. If your dog knows there is a high value reward waiting, he will learn much faster than if he ‘has to’ do it. He will want to train with you so- reward away!

Lastly;

BE HAPPY:Your dog wants nothing more than to make you happy. When YOU are happy so is he! When HE is happy he will go beyond your wildest dreams to make YOU feel the same. If you are sick, just feeling down or simply do not want to work with your dog on any given day: DO NOT WORK WITH HIM!! You WILL make things worse. If he complies partially and you are not fully involved but you accept that partial compliance, he will learn that that is what he can get away with. You will have to un-train him to get him to comply as you (really) want him to. So- no training when you are feeling poorly or when your dog is not in the best of health. This too will sabotage your success.

My “short burst training”™ method

step by step: (careful, you might miss this)

3 to 5 training sessions “per day”

3 to 5 minutes“per session”

THAT IS IT!!!!!

Let me re-type that:

3 to 5 training sessions “per day”

3 to 5 minutes“per session”

A grand total of 9 to 25 minutes per day MAXIMUM will reap results like nothing that you have read, seen, heard about or tried before today.

Choose a command or behavior, set your “exacting” sequence of compliance (motivation

command, reward), remain calm, be firm while using soft vocal commands, give time for him to understand and comply, reward upon exact compliance for a maximum of 3 to 5 minutes and quit.

Get 1 really great compliance and let him relax. Come back to it later when you feel great again and he is motivated, again.

Follow this pattern for 7 days and you will see a new dog standing in front of you. He will look forward to training with you and you too will look forward to working with him.

Come back when everyone is fresh and repeat this training sequence. NEVER go too long. A bored dog will not learn! Just 1, really great compliance is worth 100 not so good ones. Your dog will learn exactly what you expect when you issue a command because you have set him up for success by allowing him to learn not by forcing him to train and bore him into a sleepy, lazy attitude.

_____________________________________________________

Kennel Up

One of the MOST important behaviors to train your dog for is-s-s-

Kennel Up(Happily go into his containment unit)

Does your dog love his kennel (containment unit)? Have you ever taken your dog to the groomer and left for a period of time? What about a trip to the Vet? Have you ever had the misfortune of having a sick dog that you had to leave at your Vet office? Well, if you have and you have not trained "Kennel Up", it is my opinion that you are mistreating your dog.Let me explain. If your dog does not feel good about going into 'containment' like a wire kennel or a plastic crate, he will surely be anxious if not frightened when and if you ever need to leave him with a professional as noted above.

On the other hand, when you give him the confidence to feel good when he is contained, you will have a happier dog when you return for him.

THINK ABOUT IT. Now train him as follows:

*As with every lesson, do this 3 times a day for 3 to 5 minutes each session for 7 days minimum and reward every completed command.

*When rewarding, always follow “Good” with your command to help her remain on task (Good WAIT or Good STAY). This is as important as any treat or toy reward is you might use.

*Always remain calm. Any anxious moments will make your dog anxious as well.

KENNEL- UP

Kennel training for life

TYPE: There are 2 basic types of home containment units interchangeably called a kennel or a crate. They are the plastic vented crate approved for use on aircraft that allows your dog limited privacy, and the all wire kennel that is open on all sides. Each serves its own purpose, however, I prefer the plastic airline approved model over the wire kennel. Because of the amount of closed area that is built into the plastic crate it is friendlier and allows your dog to lie down and be somewhat alone. The opposite is true of the wire kennel. There is nowhere he can go that he is not stimulated by movement. He can and does see everything around him.

SIZE: You should get a crate large enough for your dog to stand, turn around and lie down with limited excess area. This prevents him from doing his business where he sleeps. Too much room and he will be able to potty in the back and lie down in the front. Too little room and he won’t be able to lie down.

I will use the term ‘kennel’ along with the command ‘kennel- up’ here. This will refer to both types of units. The training technique is the same.

NEVER EVER use a kennel as punishment. Your dogs kennel should be a refuge not a prison. If you need to kennel your dog for misbehavior you must do that in such a way as to let him know that going into his kennel is a good thing and you are happy with him. Fail to follow this rule and you will have a serious problem getting him to go in even if that is where he usually eats.

Train your dog to LOVE his kennel. Here is how to ‘Kennel-up’

~ No command is given yet. Let him do it and then we will tell him ‘what’ he is doing. This makes it really easy for him to understand exactly what to do. He won’t know any command word anyway so let’s make this easy for him. All he has to do is follow the treats. A command word now will give him something else to think about making the technique more difficult. Once he is moving in and out easily we will introduce ‘Kennel- up’. Wait until then, please.

~ Leave the door open. Do not attempt to close him in, no matter how far in he goes. Allow him to enter and exit freely. For now, do not attempt to close the door or get him to stay in no matter how far in he goes. There are dogs that will love the kennel immediately yet we need to allow them to let us know when they are ready. If your dog goes in and sits EUREKA! You have a winner. That is not usually what happens so follow these instructions and your dog will become a dog that loves his kennel.

~ Open door training: Begin by tossing a treat just far enough into his kennel that he must put his head in to retrieve it. Repeat this until he is moving rapidly with little hesitation.

~ As he gets comfortable toss a second treat just ahead of the first so he sees it fall and wait for him to get that one. This second treat might be at the distance that requires him to put his paws in. Move slowly and he will learn quickly what you want him to do. Baby steps are your friend when training any new behavior.

~ Repeat this eventually tossing a chain of treats in deeper as he is comfortable with each new distance. DO NOT move too quickly. You will frighten him and he will refuse to even put his head in. Be patient. This works!!

~ When he is going all of the way in on his own and turning or backing out, begin handing him a treat while he is still in the kennel even if he is heading out. He will stop long enough to take the treat. Your goal is to begin rewarding him ‘in’ his kennel to create a happy place for him.

~ Let him come and go freely in the beginning. Soon we will be closing the door but we first want him to love going in and coming out freely.

~ Closed door training: When he is leisurely going in and out you are ready to ‘briefly’ close the door behind him. Count 2, open, reward him in the kennel and let him come all of the way out.

~ Introduce the ‘Kennel-up’ command now and repeat this technique. As you send him in, very pleasantly command ‘Kennel-up’ and wave your hand toward his kennel. Toss a treat in if you like or need to.

~ Continue with this brief closed door training always counting, 2 then 3 seconds, then 5 now 2 again. Vary the time you have the door closed to train him that you are not always going to leave him there for a certain time. Confusion is a good thing when it comes to how log your dog knows he will be contained. You do not want him to know that you are always going away when he enters his kennel. Hearing “Kennel-up” should make your dog very happy.

I also suggest that you feed your dog ‘in’ his kennel. This is another way to get him to love his kennel. After you have trained him to go in and out freely you can put his food bowl in his kennel, command ‘kennel-up’ and he runs in. Close the kennel door to let him eat and then release him when you want to. This is especially helpful when you have a beggar, a dog that glares at you. Feeding him in his kennel prevents this behavior allowing you to eat in peace.

In the end it is up to you to ‘allow’ your dog to learn at his pace and not yours. We all learn in a different way and at different speeds. So it goes for your dog. Let him learn.

If your dog falters or refuses to comply you must start over. Take your time and he will get this in a day or two. Do not force him. Allow him to learn to love his kennel and many challenges will be eliminated or possibly blocked from ever appearing.

This is one of the first behaviors trained to service, therapy and companion dogs. If your dog does not know where you are, that you are the most important thing in his life and that virtually everything in her life belongs to and comes from you, you will continually struggle with obedience.

The goal of this exercise is to train your dog to look to (at) you for guidance in every situation she encounters (a dog walks by, person throws something, cat taunts her, etc). Train this to get her to ask you what you want her to do.

As your praise word I suggest using the word “yessssss” (yessss I did misspell that) rather than (good) when eye contact is made. It is a happy sound and lingers when you hold on to it which, by extension, holds your dogs’ eye contact a second longer for a win-win training session.

If your dog is food motivated you will need a handful of high value treats or rewards cut into pieces no larger than ¼” x ¼” (the smaller your dog, the smaller your treats must be). You do not want to ‘feed’ your dog just reward her and tiny treats won’t interfere with her normal meals. If she is not a food motivated dog use a special toy and use a 3 or 5 second play time as the reward for eye contact. Be certain to use a reward that is truly motivating. Do not use her daily kibble or the toy that she always plays with. That may flip her switch for now yet it may not have high enough value for her to pay attention to you when another distraction pops up. Hot dogs, cheese, liverwurst are all very high value to most dogs. Find that especially high value reward and use it for best results.

You will say nothing while training this technique UNTIL your dog makes eye contact then, ‘yessss’ as you quickly stuff a treat in her mouth. Use both hands to reward her so she does not focus on that reward coming from only one hand

First- DO NOT move too quickly. Let her learn this step by step. If this takes 1 week, 2 weeks or a month it is worth more than you know. You will be the judge as to whether she has an opportunity to learn this. Take your time. This technique alone, when trained properly, will give you a dog to be very proud of.

~Train using the 'funnel' technique holding a treat in each hand near your eyes.

~Look, do NOT stare at her, saying nothing, just wait. She will look back and forth sweeping past your eyes each time until she briefly stops to make eye contact, only a nanosecond at first.

~Repeat the steps alternating your treat hands to reward her and saying ‘yessss’

~When you have eye contact for 10 seconds with your hands held close to your face, move your hands out a couple of inches.

~If she doesn't make eye contact at this distance (this is critical!!!), move your hands back and start over.

~When she is holding eye contact for at least 10 seconds begin to move (flick) your fingers as a distraction (it is normal and acceptable for her to briefly look at that distraction then return her focus to your eyes)

~Wait, reward her returning her look to your eyes.

~Move your hands out, down to your sides, over your head. Create focusing challenges only AFTER she is clearly focused at each level before moving on PLEASE!

The end result should be your dog is so focused on you that your arms are extended hands flailing and she is fixed on your eye contact. When this is truly second nature to her the distractions will have less and less affect on her point of focus. She will be able to ignore most distractions and those that she does seek out will be so brief that you might not even see her flick her eyes out.

Please DO NOT MOVE TO QUICKLY. Let your dog learn this and you will have the most amazing dog you have ever seen. Every dog can and will learn this given the chance.

Happy training, Ken

_____________________________________

"SETTLE"

Calming your dog when you return home before going inside

Does your dog go ballistic when you come home? Is he completely uncontrollable, jumping, pawing and being an over all pain? Well, here is the solution, plain and simple. Follow this technique and you will be amazed at how easily you can train your dog how to act in those extra excited moments. "SETTLE" is the command you use for this training and every time you want him to calm down hereafter.

~ Make some noise when you put your key in the lock to inform Raizo that you are home

~ As you open the door command "Settle" and listen for any anxious movement from him

~ The first few days I want you to then close the door, wait a few seconds and again listen for movement.

~ When you believe he is waiting for you and quiet, enter while commanding one more time "Settle". If you hear movement, go back out the door closing it. behind you.

~ Repeat this until he is quiet and waiting before you actually come in.

~ Spend some time just 'coming home' and ignoring him, just a few minutes

~ Now as you approach to greet him he must remain quiet and calm

~ If he becomes too excited you must stop in your tracks and start over.

~ Repeat as needed

Don't give up on this even once and in no time you will have him calm every time you leave or arrive back home. You will also be able to calm him when you have guests.

Happy training, Ken

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To all Dog owner and Dog Lovers

CONTROL-vs-OBEDIENCE

If you are faced with a challenge that you simply don’t know what to do about, I can help.

~ Control is the key to a great dog and great family life not ‘obedience’. If you cannot ‘control’ your dog when he is the most excited, obedience will do you no good. You will probably have trouble handling him in other situations as well. That is (not) an obedience problem, it is a behavior (control) problem.

~ Obedience, what I call the ‘tricks’ you teach your dog to do (sit, down, come, etc)

~ Control is teaching your dog coping skills. Training him that you are in charge at all times and that he must follow your commands every time. He will learn to comply of his own free will not because he is afraid of you.

That is where I excel, helping you take ‘control’ mentally and then, by extension, physically.

When your goal is to “control” how your dog acts (rather than dominate his life), you win and your dog will LOVE you for it.